Essential Albums

Dio performing live on stage in front of the band's giant Egyptian sphinx and pyramid set, mid 1980s

The Top Heavy Metal Bands

Declan Rourke · Oct 1, 2026

The three members of Kotiteollisuus photographed together against a dark background

The Finnish Heavy Metal Bands

Declan Rourke · Sep 30, 2026

Skid Row guitarist performing live in Detroit, March 2023, red stage light against an American flag backdrop

The Hair Metal Bands

Declan Rourke with Saint Sylveszter · Sep 29, 2026

Joel O’Keeffe of Airbourne shouting into the microphone at the Roundhouse in London in February 2026

The Australian Heavy Metal Bands

Declan Rourke · Sep 28, 2026

The four members of Sacrifice photographed together in leather jackets in the mid 1980s

The Canadian Heavy Metal Bands

Declan Rourke · Sep 27, 2026

The six members of Cristal y Acero photographed together against a plain background in 2025

The Mexican Heavy Metal Bands

Declan Rourke · Sep 25, 2026

Queensryche on stage at Islington Assembly Hall in June 2026, the whole band and the backdrop in frame

The Best Heavy Metal Live Albums

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Sep 11, 2026

Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. on stage at Rock City in Nottingham in July 2025, the skull-topped microphone stand beside him

The Heavy Metal Concept Albums

Declan Rourke · Sep 9, 2026

Cannibal Corpse, the band whose two different album sleeves drive collectors to chase both, in a recent press photo from their own site

The Death Metal Records Collectors Chase

Rafael Quintero · Sep 8, 2026

Abbath of Immortal walking through a mossy Norwegian forest in corpsepaint and battle gear

The Black Metal Records Collectors Chase

Eirik Solvang · Sep 8, 2026

The sleeves of Our Problem by Iron Monkey, Floor by Floor and Supercollider by Cavity laid side by side

The Underrated Sludge Metal Albums

Gareth Llewellyn · Sep 8, 2026

Windhand's five members, singer Dorthia Cottrell at the centre, leaning against a stone mausoleum in the snow

The Female Doom Metal Bands

Ilse Brandt · Sep 8, 2026

Truckfighters playing a club stage in front of their painted backdrop, guitarist and bassist either side of the drummer

A List of Stoner Metal Bands, by Scene

Ilse Brandt · Sep 8, 2026

The four members of The Obsessed standing together in a black and white band photograph

The Eighties Doom Bands Nobody Signed

Ilse Brandt · Sep 8, 2026

In Flames band members posing together outdoors in the late 1990s

Swedish Melodic Death Metal Bands

Rafael Quintero · Sep 8, 2026

Antestor posing together

Christian Black Metal Bands

Eirik Solvang · Sep 8, 2026

Bloodbath on stage in 2023

Death Metal Live Albums Worth Owning

Rafael Quintero · Sep 7, 2026

The sleeve of In the Nightside Eclipse, Emperor, 1994

In the Nightside Eclipse: When the Keyboards Arrived

Eirik Solvang · Sep 7, 2026